Dark Forces
by Potter's Tales
Summary: Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson are dragged into a high-adrenaline case of mystery and drama, when a distressed woman stumbles into their house with the case of their lives. (Set directly after Hound of the Baskervilles and Asylum of the Daleks)
1. chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - The Client**

"Sherlock it's bloody midnight what the hell are you doing!" John called from his bedroom, over the sound of an incessant banging from downstairs. John jolted out of bed and dashed over to his door, slinging his dressing gown on as he did so. He pulled the door open, revealing Sherlock stood in his doorway directly in front of him.

"I thought that was you?" Sherlock noted questioningly. John was taken aback.

"Yes, Sherlock. _I_ was the one banging on our bloody door in the middle of the night!" John shouted sarcastically, pushing Sherlock out of the way and running downstairs. "Keep your bloody hat on!" John bellowed.

"Every time." Sherlock muttered under his breath, yawning as he made his way into the front room. He took a seat on his chair and reached over to a tepid mug of tea which he'd left out overnight. Trying to keep his eyes open, he took a couple of tentative sips to wake himself up. After a couple of moments, he heard two sets of footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Couldn't this have waited until morning?" Sherlock heard John ask from the other room. Suddenly, the door burst open and John walked into the front room accompanied by a young woman who was evidently distressed.

"Take a seat." Sherlock sighed, gesturing over to the empty chair in the middle of the room. John glanced over at Sherlock with a look of exasperation, but Sherlock just rolled his eyes and shook his head. _Not now._

"I..I'm sorry for coming so late..but-but I couldn't wait," the young woman trembled, her fingers shaking against the chair's arm.

"Missing boyfriend?" Sherlock asked, causing a prolonged moment of silence throughout the room.

"How..how did you...?" she asked, not quite able to get her words out.

"It's textbook," Sherlock chuckled. He moved closer to the woman and examined her closely. John rolled his eyes as the woman looked at him for some sort of answer.

"Just let him do it." John sighed, as Sherlock sat back down in his seat. "So, why didn't you go to the police?" he asked.

"Affair." Sherlock answered. "She was having an affair, it's an unstable alibi."

"How the hell could you possibly know that?!" the woman asked, standing up from her seat and taking a couple of steps back.

"Your wedding ring." Sherlock smiled falsely, "There's no ring on your finger but a definite imprint of where one has been. It's been recently removed and you left it at your lovers house following his sudden disappearance."

"You..you're amazing." the woman laughed nervously. "Yeah, you're right."

"I know," Sherlock smiled, "tell us everything."

"Damien and I were...talking..when I got a phone call from my mum. I answered the call and we chatted for a bit, when I heard Damien scream from somewhere in the garden. I went to find him, but he was nowhere to be seen. I searched for hours, and there's nowhere he could've gone," the woman explained, a few years forming in her eyes.

"Boring!" Sherlock exclaimed, shooting up from his chair and walking over to the kitchen. The woman was taken aback at first, but then looked to John for some sort of comfort.

"Give me a minute." John sighed, also standing up and going over to the kitchen to talk to Sherlock. He placed a hand on his shoulder and spun him around. "Take the bloody case."

"Why?" Sherlock asked, utterly confused. "It's boring!" he exclaimed.

"Have you seen that woman? She's shaking in her bloody seat!" John scoffed. Sherlock looked over at the woman, who was indeed shaking in her seat.

"Fine. I can spare a couple of hours." Sherlock sighed, making his way back over to the front room. He looked at the woman and smiled. "I'll take the case."


	2. chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - The Case**

By the time that the Taxi had pulled up outside the scene of the disappearance, John, Sherlock and their client were deep in discussion.

"And the gates were still bolted shut, you say Chloe?" John asked, looking over at their client. Chloe nodded her head and spoke up.

"Yep. And we have a monitor that shows us every time that gate opens. He never left the house, but he's not there anymore." Chloe explained.

"What type of flowers do you keep in the garden?" Sherlock asked, raising his fingers to his lips to concentrate.

"Roses, daises, tulips. Nothing special." Chloe answered. Sherlock glanced out of the window, where he realised the Taxi had stopped in front of a large Tudor Mansion. "Everybody out." he ordered.

The trio bailed out of the Taxi and made their way over to the front door, which was still slightly hung open. Sherlock cautiously pushed the door open, as a haunting shriek flooded throughout the mansion.

"Where did you last see Damien?" Sherlock asked.

"I saw him in the front room, but then I heard him scream from the garden." Chloe answered, guiding the detectives towards Damien's beautiful garden. It stretched across almost half a mile, and was filled to the brim with different flowers of all different shapes and sizes.

Sherlock examined the garden, trying to take in every last detail to try and find any clue. He examined the water feature, the hoardes of roses, and the scattered angel statues throughout the garden.

"Any idea where the scream might've come from?" John asked, looking over at Sherlock who was deep in thought. Chloe took a moment to think, before she had an idea.

"It was pretty loud, so it must've been close to the front room. Maybe the greenhouse?" She suggested. Sherlock suddenly came back to his senses and walked over to John and Chloe.

"The greenhouse?" he questioned. "Lead the way."

"Sure thing, Detective." Chloe smiled, grabbing John's arm and dragging him through the endless fields of flowers towards a towering glass feature. At the front of the greenhouse stood another angelic statue, which was covered with moss and dirt. Sherlock glanced at the statue, before following John and Chloe into the greenhouse.

"There don't seem to be any signs of a struggle." Sherlock noted, looking around the greenhouse at the pots of flowers and plants, all of which were in perfect condition. "The scream suggests an involuntary response, which in turn suggests a struggle. There was no struggle here." Sherlock observed.

"Well if he wasn't in here, then he could've been anywhere." Chloe sighed, hopelessly. "We have no chance."

"Have you ever met Sherlock?" John asked with a hint of laughter, "he's the smartest bloody man you've ever met."

"Thats not true John. I'm a sociopath, not a man." Sherlock said instinctively, grabbing Chloe's hand and leading her out the greenhouse. John followed behind them.

"Chloe, lead us back to the house." Sherlock asked, as he fell behind a little to speak to John.

"Working theories?" John asked, walking ahead with a slight limp.

"51, but I'm not sure on any of them." Sherlock said as if that was totally normal.

"51? How the hell is that even possible?!" John laughed, observing Chloe as she scurried ahead into the distance.

"So, Chloe eh?" Sherlock smirked. John looked at him with a sense of confusion, which eventually turned into realisation, then disgruntlement.

"You mean..no-no...no!" John exclaimed, blushing. "No. I mean she's great..but that's...stop looking at me like that!"

"I'm not." Sherlock said sternly.

"You are..you're bloody looking at me like-" John started.

"Shut up. Shut up!" Sherlock shouted, staring ahead into the distance with grave intent.

"Sherlock, what's wrong?" John asked, following Sherlock's line of sight towards one of the angel statues in the distance. "That statue? There's loads of them around here."

"That one John." Sherlock whispered. "I notice everything, you know that by now."

"Sherlock what is it?" John asked.

"It's moved."


End file.
